Workshop & Innovation Hub: The Employee Journey

Sonya Law

General Manager People and Culture
D&E Air Conditioning

Sonya Law is the General Manager of People & Culture for D&E Air Conditioning. 

With over 35 years of experience, D&E Air Conditioning provides unequalled air conditioning and mechanical services across a wide range of sectors, including large-scale construction projects, commercial, residential, data centres, education, defence, and healthcare industries. 

I am incredibly proud to collaborate with such a talented team in delivering sustainable solutions. Our workforce has grown to over 650 employees across Victoria, Geelong, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide. 

Our team is made up of experts in Engineering, Drafting, Estimating, Construction, Service, Project Management, and Professional Services. 

Anna Pitman

Principal Consultant
ACP Consulting Group

Anna has been a professional coach for nearly a decade and has provided thousands of both individual and group coaching hours across diverse industries, including manufacturing, utilities, mining, engineering, finance, and Aboriginal corporations.

Anna’s coaching philosophy is anchored in the belief that her clients are the true experts of their own lives, and her job is simply to reconnect them to that innate wisdom. Recognised for her capacity to identify and cultivate individuals’ highest potential, she focuses on fostering growth rather than merely addressing current challenges.

Fearless in her approach, Anna challenges the status quo to inspire transformative change, skilfully employing an array of coaching strategies that enable clients to overcome stagnation and achieve lasting progress. Her pragmatic perspective – shaped by her broad real-world leadership experience and deep understanding of the challenges leaders face – allows Anna to navigate the complexities of today’s fast-paced leadership landscape with ease. She creates a nurturing space for growth and her supportive demeanour encourages clients to confront obstacles and engage in meaningful self-reflection.

Anna is accredited in various diagnostic tools, including the Marshall Goldsmith Global Leadership Assessment (GLA360), Human Synergistics Life Styles Inventory (LSI 360), Strengths Profile – CAPP, Talent Identify, MSCEIT (The Mayer-Salovey-CarusoEmotional Intelligence Test), and DISC Advanced. Beyond coaching, Anna is the founder and director of ACP Consulting Group, a leadership development business that integrates neuroscience and psychology with the world of business

Mick Roche

Sales Director
First Advantage

Mick has been in the background screening industry since 2017. Previously, he was leading the Sales for Sterling in APAC and AUNZ. He joined First Advantage through its recent acquisition of Sterling and is responsible for driving business development and growing the business across the Australia and New Zealand region.

Maaike Van Dijk

Solutions Consulting Manager APAC
Rippling

Maaike is based out of our Sydney office and leads the APAC Solution Consulting team. She has extensive experience working in the HR tech space both locally and internationally.  

Maaike is passionate about uncovering the challenges customers face with their current tech stack and working with them on a solution that simplifies and automates the experience not only for HR or finance but for all employees. 

David Brudenell

Executive Director
Decidr

David is a seasoned leader in AI, machine learning and high-growth businesses, with executive experience spanning startups to global enterprises. He led Global Solutions & Advanced Research at Appen, driving AI innovation worldwide, and held leadership roles at Pureprofile, Eclipx, and Flare. As co-founder of C2 Investments, he backs cutting-edge startups in market research, e-commerce and greentech. With a track record of scaling companies from Sydney to San Francisco, David thrives at the intersection of technology, strategy and growth.

Joshua McKenzie

CTO
ELMO Software

Josh is the CTO at ELMO, leading the technical strategy and delivery of its product suite. With 20 years in technology, primarily in FinTech, he has a track record of driving innovation, efficiency and growth. Before joining ELMO in 2024, he held senior roles at Lendi Group, OFX, ASX and Westpac. Passionate about cutting-edge solutions, Josh excels at aligning technology with business goals to solve complex challenges and push innovation forward.

Maaike Van Dijk

Solutions Consulting Manager APAC
Rippling

Maaike is based out of our Sydney office and leads the APAC Solution Consulting team. She has extensive experience working in the HR tech space both locally and internationally.  

Maaike is passionate about uncovering the challenges customers face with their current tech stack and working with them on a solution that simplifies and automates the experience not only for HR or finance but for all employees. 

Hayley Mearing

Manager, People and Culture
CareChoice

With more than 9 years’ experience in generalist HR and recruitment, Hayley has a great passion for enhancing employee experience and developing true partnerships with key stakeholders in relation to positive workplace culture. Since February 2024, She has been employed as Manager, People and Culture with CareChoice, who specialise in 24-hour disability programs for individuals with multiple and complex support needs across Victoria. Since working with CareChoice, Hayley has taken great pleasure in both the execution and delivery of key value-adding organisational people and culture projects – one example including the development of our Performance Development Review Module, Success @ CareChoice.

During her career, she has worked within the aged care, home care, disability, and youth welfare sectors. These experiences have shaped her passion and enabled her to contribute to the workplace by sharing her knowledge of national HR practices and employment regulations, including VIC, NSW, ACT, QLD and WA.

Wes O’Donnell

Head of Workplace Relations
Citation Group

Wes O’Donnell is the Head of Workplace Relations at Citation Group, with over 20 years of experience in workplace relations and employment law. He possesses a deep understanding of the issues and current trends affecting key Australian industries and professions, overseeing the delivery of workplace relations and HR services to multiple industry associations and large corporates, while he and his team handle over 100,000 advisory transactions annually.

Katia DeKort

Head of People Programs
George Weston Foods

Katia joined George Weston Foods in 2016 and during her time there has held various senior leadership roles. Katia is currently the Head of People Programs, with expertise in leadership coaching, leading transformational change initiatives, and building high-performance teams. Katia is a pragmatic and commercial People and Performance leader with over 15 years of experience in HR. Katia has worked across a variety of industries including services, financial services,
transport/logistics and manufacturing.

Steve Reid

Chief People Officer
Australian Payments Plus

Steve is a senior executive with a passion for helping people and organisations reach their potential through building exceptional cultures, people practices and ways of working. He is a visionary but pragmatic leader with a track record of building industry leading teams, cultures and businesses over 30+ years. He has worked across diverse industries including consulting, mining, technology, telecommunications, financial services and media in everything from startups to multi-nationals.

He is currently the Chief People Officer for Australian Payments Plus with accountability across People & Culture, Change, Delivery, Process excellence and PMO

Joel Smith

CEO
Affinity Payroll

At the helm of Affinity Payroll, Joel’s mission is advancing payroll technology to empower businesses in Australia and New Zealand. As CEO, his leadership champions innovation, compliance, and transformative client experiences. His team’s success is anchored in a client-centric approach, underpinned by real-time, event-driven solutions.

Previously, as Chief Revenue Officer, Joel steered our strategic direction towards profitable revenue generation, overseeing sales and marketing management. His expertise in customer relationship management and people management has been pivotal, fostering an environment where their clients and team members thrive in unison. Affinity is committed to de-risking payroll, ensuring organizations navigate legislative complexities with ease.

Michael Morgan

CEO
Herrmann Asia

After working closely with Ned Herrmann, Michael founded Herrmann International Asia in 1988 and remains its Chief Executive. 

For over 30 years, the Whole Brain® Model has been his passion and he is one of the region’s leading experts on how the HBDI® can stimulate innovation and creativity in the workplace. 

Over three decades, Michael has worked with some of Australia and Asia Pacific’s largest industrial, pharmaceutical, technological, educational and financial organisations. Through Whole Brain® Thinking, he has helped them develop and harness the true power and potential of their workforces. Using this powerful and scientific instrument, he has helped people at all levels develop a recognition and appreciation of their individual thinking styles. These transformative insights have enabled individuals to become more creative, intuitive, analytical and productive. He has helped teams communicate and collaborate more effectively and better appreciate one another’s vital contribution to achieving their shared goals. 

Michael’s approach is to apply the principles of the Whole Brain® Model to stimulate innovative and problem-solving thinking that will be relevant to the client’s business model and drive bottom line results. 

As well as delivering programs, Michael is a keynote speaker who has addressed professional audiences from a broad range of categories across Asia. He’s also the author of two seminal books – Making Innovation Happen and Creating Workforce Innovation. 

When he’s not working, Michael likes to use all four quadrants of his brain in the relaxing but sometimes challenging past-time of sailing. 

Simone Strachan

Founder
Bespoke Talent Solutions

Simone is engaged as a competitive talent solution consultant. Partnering with organisations she helps them achieve their full potential when it comes to talent. Simone’s specialisms include Employer Brand, Employee Value Proposition and Talent Advisory. Offering modularised services enables Simone to craft a truly bespoke offering. First and foremost Simone is a mum to the energetic and excitable Harriett! The second thing you should know is that she loves talking about all things talent and travel! 

 www.bespoketalentsolutions.com.au What I do About Me Having had the chance to work across various industries globally and in different sized organisations, this has enabled Simone to view talent from various angles. With 15+ years in Human Resources and over 10 years within the Talent space leading teams, Simone is accredited in Employer Brand and loves empowering others to have impact whilst building a deep specialism. What people value about Simone is her ability to truly partner, have impact quickly and leave a legacy all whilst having fun along the way. Her aim is to make your life easier